DIY Christmas Decorations -- a Crafty Sundays Post

 

Sorry I was missing this past week. Hazel got sick and was out of school all week. I felt like I was fighting it and with some extra sleep and Rachel Carapella's advice, I seemed to fight it off. Now sadly Steve seems to have it. Fortunately it is not Covid-19. It seems to be a cold or a little bug. While being home with Hazel I was able to make some crafts I have been thinking about for awhile. Have you noticed gnomes seem to be everywhere this year? One of the moms of one of Hazel's friends loves them so I have been noticing them everywhere. I was going to try to make one of the fabric gnomes shared here, but haven't gotten around to it. I shared the tutorial with my friend but she wanted a non-sewing version so here is what I came up with.

I bought a package of the larger peg dolls and white craft fur and used scraps of felt and wooden beads that I already had as well as paint and a Sharpie marker. To begin I painted the bodies of the dolls. I chose four different colors and found felt that matched those colors. Once the paint was dry I cut a triangle of the fur and glued it on as the beard and hair. I also glued on the wooden bead noses. I held up pom poms and different size beads and decided on this size for the nose. I cut triangles of felt to make cones for the hat. I glued them together and then onto the heads. Once all of the glue dried I drew on eyes with the Sharpie. I found the small trees at Target for $1 in the Dollar Spot. I am rather happy with how they came out.

I tried dots as well as curved dashes for the eyes to give different looks.

My other fun decoration is the glitter ornaments I have seen everywhere on-line. The first ones I saw were here. I had some small glitter and not the chunky glitter but I wanted to give it a try. I bought the acrylic ornaments at Michaels and Joann's. I found the stores were hit or miss for having them. The first time I looked at both they were not out or at least the ones I wanted weren't and the next time they both had options. I didn't want any of the ones that have a design (details) etched in them.

To make them I spread some Mod Podge on one side of the ornament and sprinkled glitter all over it. Once it set for a few seconds I shook off the extra glitter. Then I left them to dry for a bit. Once they had time to dry I put a layer of Mod Podge over the glitter to seal it in. I let that dry and did another sealing coat. I used the high gloss Mod Podge. Once I had let them sit to dry completely I used a Sharpie marker to write holiday words on them.

Some especially my gold star showed some holes in the glitter. I went over the spots and tried to get more glitter on them and sealed it in again. Some spots are more visible when they are on the tree. This is the downfall of the smaller glitter. The chunky glitter wouldn't matter as much for holes. 

I bought four different shapes because I wanted to make one for each week of Advent. I also was thinking Hazel would make ones. However she didn't really want to make them so I made them all. 

We put our tree up yesterday, so we hung the non-Advent ornaments on the tree.

I love how they came out. For my Believe Star I used a translucent glitter that had some gold specks in it. I love how the lights shine through it.

The gold glitter on this jolly heart ornament picks up the colors of the lights as well. They each change with the light that is near them. They are so fun.

For this ornament I used a multicolor glitter. As you can see there is a light directly behind it making it truly "merry & bright" like it says. Now I wish I could find some candle shaped acrylic ornaments. They would be perfect for my Advent ones. Maybe next year. Are you starting to think about Christmas? I know we still have Thanksgiving this week but I am excited for Christmas season.